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- Wed Mar 14, 2012 5:14 pm#6414
Hey all. Can I ask a favor, I got a piece of fanfic that I would really like to come to life. So what I am asking is for advice and guidance since this is my first one. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

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- Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:55 pm#6418
If my two cents is worth anything, I'd say a key thing to remember in terms of making a fanfiction story 'come to life' is to try to stay as true to the characters we're all familiar with as possible. Adding new characters or writing in yourself as a character can work, though I personally tend to shy away from it (but that's just my personal style).

The fun part of fanfiction is seeing familiar characters we all know and love in unfamiliar/new scenarios. So areas to really take creative liberties would be things like setting and plot, whereas aspects dealing with the characters we're all familiar with (for example, if it's Tenchi Muyo fanfiction, think the main cast: Ryoko, Ayeka, Tenchi, Washu, etc) such as their personality, dialogue, inner-monologues and such, it's crucial to stay true to that character.

Continuing with Tenchi as an example, we've all spent so much time watching the series/movies or reading mangas, etc, we really feel like we know who these 'people' are--they become very real to us. By keeping true to that:

1) it makes it more easily imaginable for us as readers that are familiar with the source material (which in turn makes your fanfiction more accessible, more enjoyable and all-around better) &

2) helps maintain a sort of continuity and familiarity with the actual series that you're writing fanfiction for. For example, with some Star Wars fanfiction I wrote a long time ago, somewhere far, far away...(yeah, that lame pun just happened, & no, none of mine are posted online anywhere, don't bother looking) I would have short stories taking place on distant worlds that would in no way alter/interfere with the larger spectrum of the Star Wars movie continuity--or if feeling more adventurous, perhaps have events inexplicably or unexpectedly leading up to main events, but definitely in no way contradicting actual 'facts' (now that I think about it, Star Wars is a bit more plot driven--as most works of fiction traditionally thought of as 'Western' often are--whereas Tenchi is very much character driven, but hopefully that made some sense).

Anyways, by having those common threads with the actual universe of whatever it is you're writing fanfiction about, therein lies the possibility in the back of our (the readers') minds that this or that could happen, or might happen or have happened (ah, better example I just thought of! Keeping with the Tenchi example, if someone wrote a few additional alternate universes set during the Tenchi Universe Space/Time Adventures escapades, such as Blade-of-the-Moon's idea to have the gang in prehistoric times, or during the glory days of sea-faring pirates...they'd be believable because 'why not?' they don't detrach in any way from the overall larger plot).

(if TL;DR) Sorry I probably rambled a bit, unfortunately got a test to go take, but in short when I read fanfiction, if I'm reading Ryoko's or Tenchi's (or some other character I know) dialogue, I can easily picture the setting clearly in my mind, and I can almost literally hear Petrea or Matt or whomever's voice saying those lines, and when that happens, combine that with the leisure time to sit in an easy chair and have a quiet cup of tea to read to, & it's a transcendental experience. So again, to summarize: start with the characters; imo, if that aspect is solid, build up from there, you can't go wrong.

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- Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:26 pm#6422
Thanks guys I will keep that in mind. And yes I have written before but never anything of this extent. I mostly write "non traditional" poems. The biggest problem for me that I can immediately see is Story Development which is the lesser of the two problems. The other being Organization. I may catch a lot heat for this but its not a Tenchi Fanfic. Its for Hey Arnold. I'm currently working on the Prelude as I'm typing this. I need to let someone look it over before I really get started to see if it could make for a good story. If anyone is willing to look over my work just let me know.

Yeah thats what I'm trying to do. I find its easier for me to write that to create fanart. I am currently working on Chapter 1 refining it as I go. I could post it on here if ya'll wanna read it, and give me any advice along the way.

Here's my thinking behind it. Basically its Hey Arnold The High School Years. Focusing on Arnold and Helga's relationship. The reason I say the High School "Years" is precisely that. Its all four years of high school. Each "book" for the lack of a better term would end with the summer break following the preceeding school year. Ending the series with High school graduation. I can say that working just on what I've done with chapter 1, its hard. Its a lot of hard work. But it also a lot of fun.

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ryokofan21 wrote:Anyone got any advice for writers block? I got it bad.

It happens to all of us (me quite often)

I've found in general that taking some time away from whatever you're working on to be very beneficial. I'll want to scrutinize, ponder & fixate on whatever it is I'm stuck on, but sometimes it's best to just stop typing, get up from the chair, & stop thinking about the whole thing altogether for a little while. Take a break, go for a walk or a drive, watch some tv, whatever you do to relax. Come back to it later ('later' can be a few hours or a few days, doesn't matter) when your mind is refreshed, then re-read, & you may see/read/think of something or a certain approach to it that you hadn't before.*

Don't get me wrong, it's good to ponder & go-over every scenario/solution you can think of to find the best one. It's just for me personally, I can find that actually very draining after a time, so it helps to take some breaks every now & then.

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- Sun Mar 18, 2012 5:25 am#6534
Thanks man that really seemed to help. Just got another chapter finished, and I've got the basis for the next chapter. But I've also got an AMV in the works so for now that takes priority number 1.

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- Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:02 pm#22454
If I may resurrect this thread, the topic is perfect for what I'm about to jot down.

What do all fanfiction writers in the whole wide world want? That's right, recognition. Every writer's been there: go through all the work of putting something down in words, and the next thing you're itching for is some feedback. What's the best way to go about this, you might ask? Read.

Yup. If you want yours read, "do unto others as you would have them do to you." While this isn't a necessity, it has to do with a little thing called "networking": if you read and comment on another fanfic author's work, she/he will not only appreciate the constructive criticism, but they'll likely also make a mental note as to whom they received feedback from, and in turn be inclined to return the favor and/or "pay it forward" to some other suffering souls longing to be heard.

Fanfiction=community, and community=give and take. If you've thrown a piece of yourself out there like a life preserver out in the middle of the vast ocean and don't follow up, there's a good chance you won't get spotted. But if you make the effort to invest some time in someone else's work, you're far more likely to find not only a future reader, but a "sparring partner" to bounce things off of for next time. It's mutually beneficial because you both/three/etc. can empathize with each other, at least on some level.

& so I don't steal anyone's thunder by the timing of this post, here's a recent fanfic post made by forum member the_evil_genius for anyone with the time to put these two cents to practice: